Sleep disorders and sleep-related symptoms affect millions of people in the United States. Available measures range from an overall estimate of 50 million to 70 million Americans with a sleep disorder to survey estimates covering insufficient sleep, trouble sleeping, medication use, children’s routines, school functioning, and drowsy-driving crashes. These measures are not interchangeable: definitions, populations, periods, and methods differ.
Contents
- How common are sleep disorders and symptoms?
- Adult insufficient sleep: national trends and geographic disparities
- Insomnia and recurring sleep difficulties in U.S. adults
- Sleep medication use and treatment-related patterns
- Children’s and adolescents’ sleep problems
- Sleep loss, school functioning, and drowsy-driving burden
How common are sleep disorders and symptoms?
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute estimates that 50 million to 70 million people in the United States have a sleep disorder. This is an overall estimate current on January 9, 2025, rather than a single survey prevalence, so it should not be compared directly with one survey percentage. (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, “Sleep Apnea: What Is Sleep Apnea?”)
A 2017 study of adults in eight states and the District of Columbia gives a more specific symptom picture. In that population, 74.9% reported at least one of four sleep-disorder symptoms. The estimate was self-reported and used the study’s definitions rather than a clinical diagnostic assessment. (CDC, “Sleep Disorder Symptoms Among Adults in 8 States and the District of Columbia, 2017”)
The same 2017 survey found that 49.5% had trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much on at least one day in the prior 14 days. This is a symptom measure, not a clinical insomnia diagnosis. In addition, 41.1% said they had been told they snored loudly, while 13.6% said someone had observed them stop breathing during sleep. The latter two figures are also symptom measures, not confirmed diagnoses.
Together, these figures show why “sleep disorder statistics” can produce different results. An overall estimate, a short recent symptom window, and a clinically confirmed condition answer different questions. The 2017 results also cover eight states and the District of Columbia, not all U.S. adults.
Adult insufficient sleep: national trends and geographic disparities
CDC FastStats reports the age-adjusted share of U.S. adults who reported getting under seven hours of sleep at several points between 2013 and 2022. The series was 35.8% in 2013, 35.1% in 2014, 35.0% in 2016, 36.2% in 2018, 33.3% in 2020, and 36.8% in 2022. These are self-reported survey estimates, so the figures describe reported sleep duration rather than a diagnosis.
| Measure | Period or population | Share |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. adults reporting under 7 hours | 2013 | 35.8% |
| U.S. adults reporting under 7 hours | 2018 | 36.2% |
| U.S. adults reporting under 7 hours | 2022 | 36.8% |
| State range for insufficient sleep | 2022 | 30%–46% |
| County range for insufficient sleep | 2020 | 24%–48% |
In 2022, state-level insufficient sleep ranged from 30% in Vermont to 46% in Hawaii. At the county level, the 2020 range was 24% in Boulder County, Colorado, to 48% in Greene County, Alabama. The county figures are model-based PLACES estimates using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, American Community Survey, and Census inputs; they are not direct county survey counts. (CDC, “FastStats: Sleep in Adults”)
The 2022 national estimate also differed across reported groups. Insufficient sleep was reported by 37% of adult men, 39% of adults aged 45–64, and 49% of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander adults. Each is a U.S. self-reported survey estimate for the named population. These comparisons describe differences in reported insufficient sleep; they do not establish why the differences occurred.
Another 2024 CDC/NCHS measure found that 69.5% of U.S. adults aged 18 and older were getting sufficient sleep. This is the National Health Interview Survey Healthy People 2030 measure, and its definition differs from the BRFSS under-seven-hours measure, so the two percentages should not be treated as exact complements. (CDC/NCHS, “FastStats – Sleep Health”)
Insomnia and recurring sleep difficulties in U.S. adults
The 2020 National Health Interview Survey measured difficulty falling asleep and difficulty staying asleep most days or every day during the prior 30 days. Among U.S. adults aged 18 and older, 14.5% had trouble falling asleep and 17.8% had trouble staying asleep. These are source-specific self-reported symptom definitions, not necessarily clinical insomnia diagnoses. (CDC/NCHS, “Sleep Difficulties in Adults: United States, 2020”)
Trouble falling asleep affected 15.5% of adults aged 18–44 and 12.1% of those aged 65 and older. It affected 17.1% of women and 11.7% of men. By race and ethnicity, the reported shares were 8.1% for non-Hispanic Asian adults, 13.7% for non-Hispanic Black adults, 14.3% for Hispanic adults, and 15.1% for non-Hispanic White adults.
The same symptom was reported by 21.9% of adults below 100% of the federal poverty level, compared with 12.6% at or above 200%. It affected 17.0% of adults without a high school diploma and 10.4% of those with a bachelor’s degree or higher. By urbanization, the figures were 12.7% in large central metropolitan areas and 17.1% in nonmetropolitan areas.
Trouble staying asleep followed a different age pattern: 13.8% among adults aged 18–44, 21.8% among those aged 45–64, and 20.3% among adults aged 65 and older. The figure was 20.7% for women and 14.7% for men. By race and ethnicity, it was 21.0% for non-Hispanic White adults, 15.4% for non-Hispanic Black adults, 10.6% for Hispanic adults, and 8.7% for non-Hispanic Asian adults.
For income groups, trouble staying asleep affected 22.1% of adults below 100% of the federal poverty level and 16.9% at or above 200%. The 2020 NHIS collection was disrupted by COVID-19, an important limitation when interpreting these estimates.
Sleep medication use and treatment-related patterns
In 2020, 8.4% of U.S. adults aged 18 and older reported taking sleep medication every day or most days during the prior 30 days. This NHIS measure included prescription and over-the-counter medication. Specifically, 6.3% took sleep medication every day and 2.1% took it most days; 10.0% took it on some days, while 81.6% never took it during the prior 30 days. (CDC/NCHS, “Sleep Medication Use in Adults Aged 18 and Over: United States, 2020”)
Use increased with age for both sexes. Among men, every-day-or-most-days use rose from 4.7% at ages 18–44 to 10.1% at age 65 and older, with 7.1% reported among men aged 45–64. Among women, the corresponding increase was from 6.5% at ages 18–44 to 13.5% at age 65 and older.
Reported use also varied by race and ethnicity. Every-day-or-most-days use was 10.4% among non-Hispanic White adults and 2.8% among non-Hispanic Asian adults. Among men, the figures were 8.0% for non-Hispanic White men and 1.7% for non-Hispanic Asian men.
By income, use was 10.0% among adults below 100% of the federal poverty level and 8.2% among those at or above 200%. Among men, the comparison was 8.3% versus 6.0%; among women, it was 11.1% versus 10.3%. These are medication-use patterns, not measures of treatment effectiveness or a recommendation to use medication.
Children’s and adolescents’ sleep problems
In 2024, 85.6% of U.S. children aged 2–17 had a regular bedtime most days or every day, according to a parent-reported NHIS measure. The share was 86.5% at ages 2–4, 90.4% at ages 5–10, and 77.5% at ages 14–17. A regular bedtime is a routine measure, not a clinical diagnosis. (CDC/NCHS, “Sleep Routines and Tiredness Among Children Ages 2–17 Years: United States, 2024”)
Daytime tiredness most days or every day was reported for 8.1% of children aged 2–17. It affected 9.3% of girls and 6.9% of boys. By age, daytime tiredness rose from 2.7% at ages 2–4 to 14.6% at ages 14–17.
A separate 2016–2019 national survey analysis found short sleep among 37.5% of children aged 6–12. Among children aged 3–17, short sleep affected 50.0% of non-Hispanic Black children, 44.9% of children from low-income households, 39.6% of children with a mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder, and 57.3% of children whose parents reported an inconsistent bedtime. These findings were parent-reported, cross-sectional associations using age-specific cutoffs; they do not establish causality. (CDC, “Short Sleep Duration: Children’s Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders and Demographic, Neighborhood, and Family Context in a Nationally Representative Sample, 2016–2019”)
Sleep loss, school functioning, and drowsy-driving burden
Among U.S. high-school students in grades 9–12, 76.5% reported sleeping under eight hours on an average school night in a survey conducted from January through June 2021. The overall response rate was 18%, so this one-time Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey estimate has an important limitation. Historical Youth Risk Behavior Survey comparisons put the share under eight hours at 74.6% in 2017 and 77.9% in 2019. (CDC, “Sleep Duration, Mental Health, and Increased Difficulty Doing Schoolwork Among High School Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic”)
The 2021 analysis also compared schoolwork difficulty by sleep duration. Relative to students sleeping at least eight hours, students sleeping six hours had a 1.17 prevalence ratio for more difficulty doing schoolwork during the pandemic; the ratio was 1.18 for students sleeping five hours. These are adjusted cross-sectional associations among U.S. high-school students aged 13 and older, so they cannot establish causality.
Drowsy driving adds a transportation-safety measure to the picture. For 2017, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated 91,000 police-reported crashes involving drowsy drivers, about 50,000 injuries, and nearly 800 deaths in the United States. NHTSA says the true burden is underestimated. (NHTSA, “Drowsy Driving: Avoid Falling Asleep Behind the Wheel”)
NHTSA reports that drowsy-driving crashes occur most frequently between midnight and 6 a.m. or in the late afternoon. This is a time-of-day pattern, not a percentage of all crashes. Separately, the 2014 BRFSS found that 11.8% of U.S. adult respondents reported sleeping five hours or less in a 24-hour period. That estimate used whole-hour rounded, self-reported duration among 444,306 respondents. (CDC, “Prevalence of Healthy Sleep Duration among Adults — United States, 2014”)